Still miss my OT4
I’ve never seen Cal so happy! our Baby Hyung
EIGHT
HOT TO GO! - CHAPELL ROAN
“Feeling good?”Teddy asked, as they all met at the BINJ lobby, getting ready to head out to dinner. It just felt like the best kind of reward for a long day of recording. Soobin had suggested a grilled-meat place he knew not far away, so Dong Yeon arranged for them to be picked up at the front entrance. “You seem to be in a different place than when we first landed.”
The thing they hadn’t expected about recording live in a studio was that Cal was going to hear things he wanted to change up, and it wasn’t going to be as easy as going back a bar or two to get there. It was exhausting, but it made him feel more alive than he had been in a year. And that was only the first track.
“I am,” he admitted, because even as they walked, he could already hear the next song they were due to record, something he’d picked out of stacks and stacks of demos that felt endless at first. But this song, in particular, he liked, it was just fun and a classic CoBOLT sound that he would have loved to play in his debut years. “She was right.”
“Who?”
Cal pursed his lips in the direction of Teddy’s sister, walking ahead of them with Siwan. “She told me to follow my instincts. I forgot what that felt like.”
He kept his eyes on her, at the way she focused on everything Siwan was saying, the way her hands moved when she spoke, like she couldn’t stay idle. It was odd to him, knowing that he had been the object of her attention years ago, and he had absolutely no idea. Now that all he wanted was her attention, she couldn’t look him in the eye.
“It’s okay,” Teddy said suddenly, and Cal wondered what he’d accidentally revealed. Dongyeon used to remind him to school his face—he always had subtitles on. “She could use someone to love her.”
“Love?” Cal echoed, feeling his chest tighten and his hands get clammy. And he never got this nervous for stage performances.
“If that’s your thing.” Teddy shrugged.
They reached the lobby, and Cal could already see the car by the exit, with Lia, Soobin and Siwan ahead of them, with one of their managers up front, and Dongyeon just behind him. To his surprise, there were a few people who exclaimed excitedly when they saw them, and Cal’s instinct was to wave, smile and greet the small group of fans politely. It was like stretching an old muscle, one that needed little prodding to get back to work. He could almost feel his public persona slipping in, waking up after a year.
“Oppa, finally, you’re back!”
“I hope you had a good day today!”
“We left a letter with Dongyeon-nim! We hope you get to read it!”
“Thank you for coming.” He smiled, bowing politely. He could feel his ears grow hot at their attention. He put his armaround Soobin as Teddy moved behind him. “Soobin, greet your fans.”
The maknae shuffled over to Cal and Teddy and bowed, to the delight of the small group. Siwan joined them, and Cal nudged his head at Teddy to go ahead to the car with Lia. The session was quick, but Cal had a sudden rush of love for the women who had come to the middle of nowhere in Cheongdamdong, hoping to get a glimpse of them. Mostly because there was absolutely no reason for them to do it, other than because they liked him, too.
That warmth was familiar, and nice, and he missed it. He missed it so badly, and wanted to be able to perform for them, make them happy.
“You guys should head somewhere warm,” he said, letting Dongyeon herd them to the car. It was a fuller van than usual, so Sunghwa their second manager, was already in the driver’s seat. “It’s chilly out today. Have meat! Or maybe hotpot!”
“That’s a great idea, oppa!”
“Don’t get sick,” Siwan reminded them, none too sternly, and soon enough, they were in the car. Teddy, Soobin and Siwan crowded together in the back, while Cal and Lia were comfortably in the second row. She was looking at the small group through the window, and Cal nudged her arm.
“Missing your old friends?” he asked. He meant to tease her, but he realized that maybe she remembered her terrible friend, whom Cal took to calling Birthday Abandoner in his head. She’d mentioned that they had both been fans, and he wondered if he would have stopped longer if he’d met them just like that, on the street, with sincere smiles and greetings.
“I’m happier to sit here,” Lia said, the wistful look on her face replaced by a genuine smile. “Let’s eat.”
“Rehearsal hits weremy favorite CoBOLT thing,” Lia was saying to Siwan. “You were producing that?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be great if people saw us playing different songs and just having fun. You think we could bring them back…?”
